If you're stuck in a large urban area it might be a good idea to lay low for a few days until the initial panic subsides and then bug out . Traffic sucks now, imagine the chaos of thousands of panicked people in their cars during a real life SHTF event.
I don't live in an urban area... But, if I did, I'd probably hole up for a couple weeks. If it's a bad enough situation, there won't be many survivors after that amount of time. And then sneak out under cover of darkness.
I agree. Having to actually see your route is way different from looking at it on a line on a paper. ANOTHER reason why you need to keep the tank full!
And don't nose in when you park. My husband is a trucker so it's force of habit to back into the driveway. My in-laws, however, just go with how they feel like parking that day. Sigh.
Since an evacuation in Midland could be for gas/chemicals. Wind direction could also effect your choice on which direction you are trying to head when leaving the city.
came in this morning sat down with my coffee and ding ding ding there you are, this is a great and much needed video... My mag needs to do this , as well as all of us when we go else where ...
I just said this week that we need to plan our route out of here and I open this video! I tell you every time... I love your videos. Thank you for clarifying for me my planning out of here! You are always so timely.
Regarding topographical maps- try to find a set pre-2001. A lot of information was taken off topographical maps after 9/11. So have a pre-9/11 and current set of maps. Regarding evacuation planning- look at how many stop lights are on your route- they should be limited. If power is out it will create a traffic nightmare and accidents at intersections and then traffic jams. Look at your route both during “rush hour” and on the weekends. Identify major businesses, schools or other locations that may create traffic if they evacuate. You never want to be around a school when something goes wrong since every parent, grand parent, aunt, uncle, friend and neighbor will be headed there to pick up their relative, friend, neighbor or see if the can “help”. Ever been around a major city football stadium when a game is over? Also Book your state’s 5-1-1 page. This will give you information on current construction, closures, accidents etc. it may be down in during SHTF but check it weekly for construction projects. Also know your official detour and evacuation routes.
One thing many people do not consider is that as gas/chemical clouds dissipate, they can leave lethal concentrations in low areas. One incident in our area resulted in dead livestock due to hilly terrain where chemical/gas remained in the bottoms for several days.
I have numerous 1st stop relocations sites. All family farms of my 1st cousins - yes we are welcome to come, remember I do bring with me my wife who is a nurse trained to sew wounds, set bones and has lost count of how many babies she has delivered. 😊 I doubt that things will ever be that bad but wiser to prepare.
Yes. Knowing secondary & tertiary roads is very important. Where we are certain bridges will go out or be down for repairs...it can take 1 year or 10 years depending. Now having that knowledge is key. Plugging into the state road maintenance site is a big deal. It can mean a LOT of headaches and time saved. Check for latest updates and keep notes on projected repair dates AND ACTUAL repair completion dates...yes. that will be posted, too!
This is so very, very true, Modern Refugee! Maps are great, but there are so many variables that can and may affect getting to your destination. Good to have multiple routes and re-evaluate a few times each year . . . each season, for that matter.
At any given time there may be long or short-term closures on any road for repairs and/or maintenance. Possibly the best source for such construction, maintenance and road closure information would be the local transportation agencies like County Engineering, State Dept. of Roads, and local Municipal Street Departments. In my area for example, there are a number of bridges closed in rural areas. In my County that information is available on the County Engineers website, for State Highways it is the State Dept of Transportation, and the local cities all have their own websites. It's important to understand that there is no single source of all road closures anywhere. You have to search out the information individually. Bridge closures that quite a long time for smaller cities and counties to replace or repair due to their fixed budgets. They simply can't afford to replace 5-10 million dollar bridges quickly when they fail, so there can be lengthy issues. Do your research in advance and a practice run perhaps once a month or so can be in order. And keep an eye on local government road projects.
Good drills there - Map analysis and route appreciation is so important. I bet a lot of preppers don't even look at the bigger picture/map of their area for other options.
Funny your talking about this, yesterday I drive a route if I'm working in a big town. If I take that route, I'll be in the mtns in 40-45 mins. It's a little bit longer going that way but think it will be safer and get away from the chaos but there is one bridge I've got to cross, little worried about. Thanks for the info
This specific issue has been a concern of mine for years. I live in a small town literally surrounded by 15+ miles of forest in every direction. A state highway runs through town, as does a creek (which swells to more like a river in the winter & spring), and there’s also an actual river which runs a winding route around most of town. The topography is very rugged; I’ve jokingly said for years that my county is “10,000 Places to Hide a Body”. There are exactly 2 roads to get out of town toward the south, both of which meet up with another state highway (at different points, several miles apart, and between those points is a tunnel about 1/4-mile long). There are 2 roads to get out of town toward the north, both of which go through very rugged backwoods & logging areas, before meeting up with state highways to the north and east. There are zero roads out of town to the east or west, except roads which dead-end into backwoods logging areas. ALL of the aforementioned roads cross multiple bridges over rivers & creeks, and none of them are earthquake certified. When my town had a “century flood” in 2007, the entire town was cut off from all access to anywhere for weeks, to the point that the National Guard had to airdrop groceries because the one grocery store & one minimart in town ran completely out of food. I moved here 10 years later, and hope to be gone before the next natural disaster (flood, major earthquake, or wildfire) hits!
I am very familiar with this area. what the dams failing a couple years ago taught me was that you can read about what to do but unless you drill, you will fail. lots of panic. you will have nervousness but if you drill you will be productive while others will miss the mark all around you.
I’m normally less than 20 miles from home. However, I have had to go to Cleveland several times lately. Down in the hood, no less. Figured I’d be a week walking home-if all went perfectly. I pray we won’t have an EMP , but if we do I sure hope the Lord has us home when it happens!!
Great video! I normally keep a US map (book) in my vehicle. But like you said maps can be wrong. So I recently purchased a Garmin GPS. It's pretty cool and even provide traffic info.
MR, Where I live there isn't anything that would cause me to evacuate. Destruction of my apartment due to fire or tornado would cause me to move. I would travel a short 20 miles to my secondary site. I know all the routes. Good thinking MR. From the 👍. Best
There's only 3 ways out of my area. I-95, US1 and A1A. When a hurricane is projected to hit here, we don't know until about 36 hours in advance. By then there's no way out because the roads are gridlocked. All of South Florida is on those 3 roads too. We've experienced a huge influx of people since 2020 so the problem is going to be even worse.😬 When are those flying cars coming?😄
maps are wrong on purpose many many times. our electric sub station is on the wrong side of the road, i believe it was google earth. the little car manufacturer down here , has their private airport in the wrong place, where they do the testing. water reservoirs or treatment plants can be misplaced on purpose also. something you will never ever see, is where credit card companies processing actually are. they arent in the phone book . they have private mail delivery by inoqious armored cars
If you're stuck in a large urban area it might be a good idea to lay low for a few days until the initial panic subsides and then bug out . Traffic sucks now, imagine the chaos of thousands of panicked people in their cars during a real life SHTF event.
I don't live in an urban area...
But, if I did, I'd probably hole up for a couple weeks. If it's a bad enough situation, there won't be many survivors after that amount of time. And then sneak out under cover of darkness.
I agree. Having to actually see your route is way different from looking at it on a line on a paper. ANOTHER reason why you need to keep the tank full!
Always.
And don't nose in when you park. My husband is a trucker so it's force of habit to back into the driveway. My in-laws, however, just go with how they feel like parking that day. Sigh.
Since an evacuation in Midland could be for gas/chemicals. Wind direction could also effect your choice on which direction you are trying to head when leaving the city.
Definitely.
came in this morning sat down with my coffee and ding ding ding there you are, this is a great and much needed video... My mag needs to do this , as well as all of us when we go else where ...
I just said this week that we need to plan our route out of here and I open this video! I tell you every time... I love your videos. Thank you for clarifying for me my planning out of here! You are always so timely.
Thank you.
Regarding topographical maps- try to find a set pre-2001. A lot of information was taken off topographical maps after 9/11. So have a pre-9/11 and current set of maps. Regarding evacuation planning- look at how many stop lights are on your route- they should be limited. If power is out it will create a traffic nightmare and accidents at intersections and then traffic jams. Look at your route both during “rush hour” and on the weekends. Identify major businesses, schools or other locations that may create traffic if they evacuate. You never want to be around a school when something goes wrong since every parent, grand parent, aunt, uncle, friend and neighbor will be headed there to pick up their relative, friend, neighbor or see if the can “help”. Ever been around a major city football stadium when a game is over? Also Book your state’s 5-1-1 page. This will give you information on current construction, closures, accidents etc. it may be down in during SHTF but check it weekly for construction projects. Also know your official detour and evacuation routes.
@@3adscout826 thanksgiving for the info on the pre 2001 maps. I did not know that.
@@ModernRefugee yes things like radio towers, gas pipelines, and some other oddities were taken off.
Interesting. Good to know. Thanks!
One thing many people do not consider is that as gas/chemical clouds dissipate, they can leave lethal concentrations in low areas. One incident in our area resulted in dead livestock due to hilly terrain where chemical/gas remained in the bottoms for several days.
I have numerous 1st stop relocations sites. All family farms of my 1st cousins - yes we are welcome to come, remember I do bring with me my wife who is a nurse trained to sew wounds, set bones and has lost count of how many babies she has delivered. 😊 I doubt that things will ever be that bad but wiser to prepare.
Yes. Knowing secondary & tertiary roads is very important. Where we are certain bridges will go out or be down for repairs...it can take 1 year or 10 years depending.
Now having that knowledge is key.
Plugging into the state road maintenance site is a big deal. It can mean a LOT of headaches and time saved. Check for latest updates and keep notes on projected repair dates AND ACTUAL repair completion dates...yes. that will be posted, too!
This is so very, very true, Modern Refugee! Maps are great, but there are so many variables that can and may affect getting to your destination. Good to have multiple routes and re-evaluate a few times each year . . . each season, for that matter.
We have the Michelin Michigan travel atlas. It is so detailed and has helped us immensely when looking for secondary roads and alternative routes.
Headed to Michigan to vacation for a week definitely something to think about when on vacation.
At any given time there may be long or short-term closures on any road for repairs and/or maintenance. Possibly the best source for such construction, maintenance and road closure information would be the local transportation agencies like County Engineering, State Dept. of Roads, and local Municipal Street Departments. In my area for example, there are a number of bridges closed in rural areas. In my County that information is available on the County Engineers website, for State Highways it is the State Dept of Transportation, and the local cities all have their own websites. It's important to understand that there is no single source of all road closures anywhere. You have to search out the information individually. Bridge closures that quite a long time for smaller cities and counties to replace or repair due to their fixed budgets. They simply can't afford to replace 5-10 million dollar bridges quickly when they fail, so there can be lengthy issues. Do your research in advance and a practice run perhaps once a month or so can be in order. And keep an eye on local government road projects.
Excellent points. Thanks for the videol
Good drills there - Map analysis and route appreciation is so important. I bet a lot of preppers don't even look at the bigger picture/map of their area for other options.
Good video, thanks for sharing, YAH bless brother !
Funny your talking about this, yesterday I drive a route if I'm working in a big town. If I take that route, I'll be in the mtns in 40-45 mins. It's a little bit longer going that way but think it will be safer and get away from the chaos but there is one bridge I've got to cross, little worried about. Thanks for the info
This specific issue has been a concern of mine for years. I live in a small town literally surrounded by 15+ miles of forest in every direction. A state highway runs through town, as does a creek (which swells to more like a river in the winter & spring), and there’s also an actual river which runs a winding route around most of town. The topography is very rugged; I’ve jokingly said for years that my county is “10,000 Places to Hide a Body”. There are exactly 2 roads to get out of town toward the south, both of which meet up with another state highway (at different points, several miles apart, and between those points is a tunnel about 1/4-mile long). There are 2 roads to get out of town toward the north, both of which go through very rugged backwoods & logging areas, before meeting up with state highways to the north and east. There are zero roads out of town to the east or west, except roads which dead-end into backwoods logging areas. ALL of the aforementioned roads cross multiple bridges over rivers & creeks, and none of them are earthquake certified.
When my town had a “century flood” in 2007, the entire town was cut off from all access to anywhere for weeks, to the point that the National Guard had to airdrop groceries because the one grocery store & one minimart in town ran completely out of food. I moved here 10 years later, and hope to be gone before the next natural disaster (flood, major earthquake, or wildfire) hits!
I am very familiar with this area. what the dams failing a couple years ago taught me was that you can read about what to do but unless you drill, you will fail. lots of panic. you will have nervousness but if you drill you will be productive while others will miss the mark all around you.
Good one, Modern Refugee. I Like 15 earlier. YT again. We think the same.
I’m normally less than 20 miles from home. However, I have had to go to Cleveland several times lately. Down in the hood, no less. Figured I’d be a week walking home-if all went perfectly. I pray we won’t have an EMP , but if we do I sure hope the Lord has us home when it happens!!
Thanks MR 😎👍
Great info!
I think that it is not only important to have alternative routes but also alternative destinations.
Great video! I normally keep a US map (book) in my vehicle. But like you said maps can be wrong. So I recently purchased a Garmin GPS. It's pretty cool and even provide traffic info.
MR, Where I live there isn't anything that would cause me to evacuate. Destruction of my apartment due to fire or tornado would cause me to move. I would travel a short 20 miles to my secondary site. I know all the routes. Good thinking MR. From the 👍. Best
Ironic. I just started watching King's The Stand.😮
One of my favorite post apocalyptic movies/books.
👍👍
There's only 3 ways out of my area. I-95, US1 and A1A. When a hurricane is projected to hit here, we don't know until about 36 hours in advance. By then there's no way out because the roads are gridlocked. All of South Florida is on those 3 roads too. We've experienced a huge influx of people since 2020 so the problem is going to be even worse.😬 When are those flying cars coming?😄
I have wondered that too. Just like the Jetsons.
Russia looks pretty good right now
maps are wrong on purpose many many times. our electric sub station is on the wrong side of the road, i believe it was google earth. the little car manufacturer down here , has their private airport in the wrong place, where they do the testing. water reservoirs or treatment plants can be misplaced on purpose also. something you will never ever see, is where credit card companies processing actually are. they arent in the phone book . they have private mail delivery by inoqious armored cars
Yeah I have to travel for work to northeast in a few weeks. Not looking forward to that
Very good tips MR! Just wondering - what is the difference between the green and the light beige areas depicted on that map?
The beige is the city and the green is supposed to represent forested areas or swamps.
@@ModernRefugee Thanks!
Boy I hope you didn't get blowback from Dow chemical for using their sign in the video.
@@pnowikow that’s why I made sure I filmed from public spaces. Unlike our utilities, Dow has actual security.
I'm looking at my route home from work. Checking side roads. Good lessons here